#franco's

Spanish second republic flag. This was the official flag of Spain from 1931 to 1939, before Franco's dictatorship.

Lunch

Cheese and Pepperoni Pizza, Fresh Fruit, and Meats and Cheeses Where:  Franco's Pizza [Takeout] Who:  Nicole MacFarlane, Brianna DeJoy

Mid Polaroids practice the other day, me and the guys (Brad and Jack) ordered a pepperoni pie and some garlic knots from Franco’s, a spot Jack and I had actually gone to a couple months back. Needless to say, this was more or less a perfect pepperoni takeout pie. Tons of ronis, super hot and fresh, and the cheese/sauce blend was spot on. Also, the garlic knots were big, doughy, and not too garlicy. If you live in the Caldwell area, you should put Franco’s high on your list of takeout spots!!

After checking out Sun-Ray Pizza, Jack and I had just enough room for one more slice, so we headed over to another place in the area I’ve been recommended hear on That’s So Cheezy, Franco’s in West Caldwell. The selection wasn’t huge, but they had a cool of great looking slices, such as the above pictured buffalo chicken and chicken francaise!

This was Jack’s first ever chicken francaise slice, and it totally blew him away. First off, as I’ms ure you can tell in the picture, they loaded up our slices with huge pieces of chicken. And it was some good ass chicken that was fresh, juicy, and full of flavor. Also at first glance it looked like the slice was completely coated in grease, but no! It was butter. A perfect touch to round out the already superb flavor. This slice was also very cheesy in a good way and the crust was a great ratio of dough to crunch; about 60:40. I could not more highly recommend this slice!

I wish I had opened with the buff because it just couldn’t match up to the francaise slice. They used Frank’s Red Hot, but it was just a little overpowering and could’ve been distributed better. Speaking of distribution, a little more bleu cheese wouldn’t have hurt at all! Honestly though it was still a solid buffalo slice, and definitely above average. The chicken and crust were pretty much identical to the francaise which only helped!

Essex County has some really fucking good pizzerias, and Franco’s in definitely a top contender. Not overly expensive for the quality (our two slices and soda cost $9.20) and a nice diner-like atmosphere. Definitely check it out the next time you’re in West Caldwell! And grab a coke to go along with your slices because it washes it down great.